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That’s a bit hysterical in my opinion.
It’s not as if the rebuild hinges on Skjei becoming a bonafide 1st pairing D.
It would be nice of course, but if he turns into a dependable 2nd pair guy that’ll be just fine.

That’s a bit hysterical in my opinion.
It’s not as if the rebuild hinges on Skjei becoming a bonafide 1st pairing D.
It would be nice of course, but if he turns into a dependable 2nd pair guy that’ll be just fine.

This. Skjei is under no such obligation to become a top-pairing player. It would be ideal, but even if all he ever pans out to be is a reliable, productive middle-pairing guy, he's still worth the investment given he's paid exactly like one.

He's most likely not going to become one, it's just not his skillset at this point. But that's ok because it's looking like K'Andre Miller may have the makings of a franchise Dman at this point. Hajek would look great with him on the top pairing. I think the future rests more on those two.

He's most likely not going to become one, it's just not his skillset at this point. But that's ok because it's looking like K'Andre Miller may have the makings of a franchise Dman at this point. Hajek would look great with him on the top pairing. I think the future rests more on those two.

But you touted his as a top pair guy. So now, I don't believe you about K'Andre.

A lot of people did, including the Rangers after giving him that contract. All the skills are there, he seems to be missing something upstairs.

It's largely positional. It's fixable. I don't see the raw talent to be a top pairing defenseman however. I think his potential tops out as a good 2nd paring. He might prove to be worth his contract, but I doubt he proves to be better than his contract...which is why the contract didn't make much sense.

It's not that easy to project what Skjei turns into.
He's a bit of a jack of all trades and doesn't have a very typical skill set.
He doesn't have the passing ability, vision and shot of your typical 1st pair offensive guy. His offense is more likely to come from joining the rush than it is as a typical QB type defenseman.
He clearly doesn't have the shutdown ability of a guy like Vlasic.

I think his skillset looks like someone who can be a very versatile support guy for both of those types of players. And it could be on a 1st pairing if things turn out well. His skating is close to elite for a guy his size in my opinion. He can generate exits and entries on his own, and he does a lot of things well. He just needs to lose the warts and brainfarts. If he can he'll be a valuable piece, whether it's on a 1st or 2nd pair. And the rebuild certainly isn't riding on whatever the outcome is.

Brady Skjei has been playing better and better. He was good against Buff, feels like 4-5 good games in a row.

Pondering if Skjei is a #1 or (2, 3 or 4) seems useless, at this point. It is still to be determined and the long view is what counts. What he becomes may come down to team makeup, his partner and how he develops within the current system. The team is best served viewing his progress over the course of a season. Then we can evaluate if he is the Skjei of 2017-18 or the one before last year. We have time to assess. He's signed and isn't going anywhere, unlike others.

In addition, I also think dman deployment is going to evolve due to innovative coaching, interchangeable skills and new data insights. The future may require Dman to be able to skate and move deep into the Ozone more frequently and for forwards to defend counter-attacks and rushes better than ever. This is going to play into the strengths of guys like Skjei and Miller. More Burns and Buff types will be coming from the younger ranks.